Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop - Data

Brewed Info:

     Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop(DR:CTYD) was released on the Nintendo Wii on February 24, 2009.  It was a port of the Xbox 360 game, Dead Rising, that was released on August 8, 2006.  I believe the Wii version released with a MSRP of just $39.99, instead of the normal MSRP of $49.99 most "new" Wii games receive.

    How many hours have Wii owners spent in the mall with Frank West, slaying zombies?  The game-play data below is 581 reported days of game-play, since the game released.  Let's take a look...

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop has 39,836 players reporting play-time data through the Wii's Nintendo Channel.


Game-Play Hours Reported:
     Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop has 467,860 Total Hours of game-play reported, with an average play-time of 11 hours 45 minutes per person reporting data.
     Each play session for DR:CTYD lasts about 2 hours 12 minutes, per person reporting the data.


Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop's Amazon.com sale rank is #1,708, and its current listed selling price is $16.75, fulfilled by Amazon.com.


Review Score Averages:
     As the image above shows, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop wasn't received very well by the "professional" gaming press, having a review score average of 62.08%, based on 25 reviews on GameRankings.com.


     Out of 26 customer reviews on Amazon.com, DR:CTYD has a 3.5 out of 5 Star rating, which would be about a 70% review score average; so slightly higher than the GameRankings.com review score average.
     Here's the breakdown of the 26 customer reviews on Amazon.com:

Thoughts:

     The whole reason for this post is because Dead Rising 2 was released yesterday for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, but not for the Wii.  I thought it was interesting to see how much Wii owners had been playing Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop in the last year and a half, since it released.

     I have not played DR:CTYD, but I remember reading the comments and watching different videos showing how it seemed the game wasn't up to "par" with some PS2 games, as to how many characters were displayed on the screen at one time.

     After DR:CTYD released, I didn't really hear much about it after the initial reviews were written.  I have seen a few comments from readers on other sites, and they seemed to have enjoyed the game and thought it was good fun.

      I just wonder if it will take Capcom nearly 3 years to port Dead Rising 2 to the Wii, like they did with the original?  It seems like porting can be done to the Wii more easily now, but perhaps Capcom is another publisher that doesn't think the "Mature" rating would help it sell on the Wii?

Questions:

     Has anybody played Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop?  If so, what did you think about it?  If you're a multi-console owner, did you purchase Dead Rising 2 yesterday, and had a chance to play it?

   

Rage againstof the Gladiator - Horlan the Crusher in Challenge Mode

Brewed Info:

     If you have been following my blog for a while, you probably know from all of my Rage of the Gladiator videos I have posted, that I enjoy the game.

     After playing through the game several times, I think the word "Rage" in the game's title, fits it very well.

     There are several definitions for "rage", but I think the best description of rage, that applies to Rage of the Gladiator, is one provided by Wikipedia, "When a person experiences rage it usually lasts until a threat is removed or the person under rage is incapacitated."

     In Rage of the Gladiator, you must knock down each boss three times to defeat them, or they may knock you down three times and you have to fight them all over again.

     While that description of rage may apply to the game-play aspect of Rage of the Gladiator, if you are prone to throwing controllers in fits of rage if you get frustrated at video games, make sure you wear the Wii Remote wrist strap while playing Rage of the Gladiator.

     Whenever I did one of my first "previews" on Rage of the Gladiator back in April(you can read it HERE), I mentioned how the game gives our four different "Ranks", or grades, depending on how you do in the fights.

     The four letter ranks you can achieve in Rage of the Gladiator are:

• Rank: S - received if you complete a match without getting knocked down, and if you complete the match without getting hit; basically a perfect match
• Rank: A - received if you aren't knocked down, but do get hit by the boss
• Rank: B - received if you are knocked down once in the match
• Rank: C - received if you are knocked down twice in a match

     Trying to achieve a "Rank: S" in each battle, can be extremely frustrating; especially in Challenge Mode!  Here is a new video from a battle I did in Rage of the Gladiator, against Horlan the Crusher in Challenge Mode; demonstrating how frustrating it may be to get a "Rank: S" in a battle:

     Like I said above, if you are prone to throwing controllers in fits of rage when playing video games, Rage of the Gladiator is a game that the Wii Remote wrist strap should be worn at all times while playing; and I think the video above is a good example of how it may cause a wide range of emotions during a match when attempting to get a "Rank: S" in the fights.

     While it can be frustrating to not get a Rank: S in the battles, it is extremely satisfying when you do defeat a boss perfectly and receive the Rank: S for it.  Rage of the Gladiator is a game that offers a lot of replay value because of the ranking system, and there is even a special attack that is unlocked after receiving a certain Rank in each battle.

Questions:

     Has anybody purchased Rage of the Gladiator, but not finished Challenge Mode yet?  If so, which boss fight are you on?  If anybody has finished Rage of the Gladiator's Challenge Mode, what were the highest "ranks" you received in the fights?

     Are there any games that you have played, that have made you want to throw the controller(and perhaps you did), because of the frustration it caused?

     Rage of the Gladiator is available to download from Nintendo's WiiWare service, for 1000 Wii Points.  You can either purchase a Wii Points card(pictured below), or use a credit/debit card directly on the Wii's Shop Channel to download the game for $10.

Summer Hours Spent at the Beach Resort - Wii Sports Resort Data

Quick Brew Info:
     Wii Sports Resort(WSR) released last July as a retail title for the Wii with a MSRP of 49.99.  Since May of this year, Wii Sports Resort has been bundled with Wii Sports, and included with new Wii consoles for $199.99.
     Summer started this year on June 21, and summer ended just this past week, on September 22(or September 23?).  The last time we looked at the play-time data for Wii Sports Resort was on July 2, but the data breakdown here will be from June 21 through September 20.
     How many hours did Wii owners spend with Wii Sports Resort, over 92 days during the summer?  Let's take a look...

On June 21, 2010, Wii Sports Resort had the following play-time data reported:

On September 20, 2010, Wii Sports Resort had the following play-time data reported:

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:

     Wii Sports Resort has 647,890 players reporting play-time data, as of September 20.

Number of Players Increased Over the Summer:

     Since June 21, or over 92 days of the summer, Wii Sports Resort saw an increase of about 153,762 players reporting play-time data on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Game-Play Hours Reported:

     Wii Sports Resort now has 17,039,171 Total Hours reported, compared to the 11,836,186 Total Hours that were reported on June 21.

     In June, each Wii Sports Resort play session was lasting about 1 Hour 45 Minutes.  As of September 20, the average play session for Wii Sports Resort was about 1 Hour 42 Minutes.

Current Sale Rank & Advertised Price:

     Wii Sports Resort's Amazon.com sale rank was #70, for the software by itself, not counting what the Wii bundles are ranked.  The game is selling for $48.93.

Review Score Averages:

     Wii Sports Resort's review score average on GameRankings.com has not changed since I posted the data back on July 2.  WSR still has a review score average of 83.00%. based on 51 reviews.

     According to 505 Amazon.com customer reviews, Wii Sports Resort has a 4.5 out of 5 Star rating.

Thoughts & Questions:

     So, according the Nintendo Channel play-time data, Wii owners in America spent 5,202,985 hours on Wuhu Island from June 21 through September 20; probably making it the most popular beach resort for 2010.

     According to NPD data, in July and August this year, the Wii sold 498,200 units.  We don't have the specific numbers of the last 9 days of June, or the first 20 days of September so far; but I would think it is safe to assume the Wii sold at least 600,000 units during the days presented by the data.

     If 600,000 is close to how many Wiis were sold, that means 600,000 copies of Wii Sports Resort were included with those bundles, plus however many units WSR sold at retail by itself.  Based off the sales and increased number of players over the summer, that means about 20-25% of new Wii Sports Resort owners started using the Nintendo Channel and approved to have their play-time data reported.

     Did any of you spend some hours on Wuhu Island this summer?  If so, what were your favorite Wii Sports Resort activities?

     I still don't own Wii Sports Resort, and the last time I visited Wuhu Island was back in December.

If you are interested in Wii Sports Resort, you can see prices for it on Amazon.com linked below:

Metroid: Other M - Hours Played

Quick Brew Info:
     Metroid: Other M's play-time data debuted last week, 14 days after it released.  Do the hours being reported/shown on the Nintendo Channel this week, look good for Samus' latest adventure?  Let's take a look...

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Metroid: Other M now has 15,736 players reporting their play-time data, on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Player Increase Since Last Week:
     Metroid: Other M has seen an increase of 4,308 players reporting play-time data, since last week.

Average & "Total" Game-Play Hours Increased/Reported:
     Metroid: Other M's average hours reported, per person, are now 11 Hours 41 Minutes; with Metroid: Other M's average game-play session, per player, being about 2 Hour 40 Minutes.
     Metroid Other M's hours reported played, per person, have increased by 1 Hour 50 Minutes since last week.
     Metroid: Other M now has 183,702 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 71,326 game-play hours since last week.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Metroid: Other M's Amazon.com sale rank is #93, and is currently selling for $48.56.

Review Score Average:
     Metroid: Other M's review score average, since last week, has increased to 79.38%, based on 43 reviews on GameRankings.com.  Last week its average was at 78.01%, based on 39 reviews.

     On Amazon.com, Metroid Other M has gained 24 customer reviews since the story last week, but is still showing what appears to be a 3.5 out of 5 Star rating, based on 95 customer reviews.

Still 3.5 out of 5 Stars...what would you give the game?

Thoughts/Questions:

     I think the game-play hours being reported are pretty solid for Metroid: Other M, considering the game is single-player focused.  I think it will be interesting to see if/when Metroid: Other M passes Metroid Prime Trilogy's "Total Hours" reported.
     I have spoken with two people that have been playing Metroid: Other M, but neither have completed it yet.  I know a few of you commented last week, that you have picked up Metroid: Other M, or received it as a gift; but many of you hadn't finished the game yet.

     If you have played Metroid: Other M, have you finished it yet; if so, about how long did it take you to finish it?


If you're interested in Metroid: Other M, you can see prices on Amazon.com linked below:

The Conduit, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex, Red Steel 2 - Data

Quick Brew Info:
     The last time I compared the game-play data for The Conduit(TCon), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex(CoD:MWR), and Red Steel 2(RS2) together, was on July 6.
     Let's take a look at the games and see how much they have increased since the July 5 data was captured.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     The Conduit has 78,549 players reporting their play-time data now.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has 91,451 players reporting play-time data.
     Red Steel 2 now has 24,932 players reporting their play-time data for the game.

Player Increase Since Last Story:
     The Conduit has increased by 7,431 players reporting data, since the data from July 5.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex now has 20,853 more players reporting play-time data.
     Red Steel 2 has 9,108 more players reporting their play-time data, than it did on July 5.

Average & "Total" Game-Play Hours Increased/Reported:
     The Conduit's average hours reported per person are now 22 Hours 57 Minutes.  TCon's current average game-play session, per player, is about 1 Hour 51 Minutes.
     The Conduit's average hours per person, 22 Hours 57 Minutes, have increased by 26 Minutes since the July 5 data.
     The Conduit now has 1,802,113 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 201,160 game-play hours since the July 5 Nintendo Channel data.

     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex's average hours reported per person are now 57 Hours 22 Minutes; with the current average game-play session, per player, being about 2 Hours 21 Minutes.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex's average hours per person, 57 Hours 22 Minutes, have increased by 7 Hours 3 Minutes since July 5.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex now has 5,245,775 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 1,693,551 game-play hours since July 5.

     Red Steel 2's average hours reported per person are now 9 Hours 41 Minutes.  Its average game-play session, per player, is about 1 Hour 53 Minutes.
     Red Steel 2's average hours per person, 9 Hours 41 Minutes, have increased by 24 Minutes since July 5.
     Red Steel 2 has 241,336 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 94,571 game-play hours since July 5.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     The Conduit's Amazon.com sale rank is #3,962, and the current sale price is $25.68.
     Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex's Amazon.com sale rank is #352, and its current sale price is $40.54.
     Red Steel 2's Amazon.com sale rank is #465, and the current selling price is $19.93.

     Both The Conduit and Red Steel 2 are currently being advertised/sold from third-party vendors on Amazon.com, at the prices listed above.

Thoughts:
     Amazon.com has been out-of-stock of The Conduit, basically every day I have checked, since July.  Red Steel 2 seems to be having issues with staying in-stock, directly from Amazon.com also.  I don't know if the issue is supply from Sega and Ubisoft for the games, or if demand has decreased enough for Amazon.com to request copies less frequently.
     Also, I think it is interesting this is the first time since I have compared these games directly, that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex has more players reporting play-time data, than The Conduit does.

Questions:
     Has anybody picked up Red Steel 2 since it received a price drop back in July?  Also, if anybody owns any of these FPSes, have you found yourself playing any of them recently; or have you moved onto other Wii games right now?
     I still have not played either Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex or Red Steel 2, perhaps that will change in the next few months.

You can see new & used prices for some of the games linked on Amazon.com below:
  

Save 33% - Heavy Rain for $39.99!

I just received a notification that Heavy Rain is on sale today for $39.99, a savings of 33% from its current MSRP.  The version on sale is the version that is Sony Move compatible, so no need to worry if you were concerned with that.

If  you are a PS3 owner, and have been waiting on a price-drop on Heavy Rain, now may be a good time to pick the game up.

Amazon.com has Heavy Rain as its, "Deal of the Day", so it will be available for $39.99, as long as it stays in-stock.

If you are interested in Heavy Rain, you can see it linked to its Amazon.com page directly below, or any of the links above should take you directly to it.

Monster Hunter Tri Surpasses Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Now the Most Played, Per Player, Wii Game in America

Quick Brew Info:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been, for a while now, the #1 played Wii game in America, according to data tracked by Kotaku.com; but as of today, that is no longer the case.
     Monster Hunter Tri released 154 days ago(5 months, 1 day), Super Smash Bros. Brawl released 926 days ago(2 years, 6 months, 12 days).
     In the 154 days since Monster Hunter Tri released, its average play-time per person has now passed that of Super Smash Bros. Brawl's.  How much more have Monster Hunter Tri players played, than Super Smash Bros. Brawl players?  Let's take a look...


     The play-time data pictured below for Monster Hunter Tri and Super Smash Bros. Brawl is for I believe the United States of America only, not other countries of North America.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl has 1,744,608 players reporting play-time data.  Super Smash Bros. Brawl has increased by 53,851 players reporting data, since the data from August 2.
     Monster Hunter Tri has 41,012 players reporting play-time data.  Monster Hunter Tri has increased by 1,898 players reporting play-time data, since the September 6 data.

"Total" Game-Play & Average Hours Played:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl has 136,477,636 Total Hours reported, with an average play-time of 78 Hours 14 Minutes per person.  The average Super Smash Bros. Brawl play session for each person reporting data is just over 2 Hours 6 Minutes.
     Monster Hunter Tri has 3,225,272 Total Hours reported, with an average play-time of 78 Hours 38 Minutes per person.  The average Monster Hunter Tri play session, for each person reporting play-time data, is just over 3 Hours 39 Minutes.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl's Amazon.com sale rank is #114, and the current selling price is $44.54.
     Monster Hunter Tri's Amazon.com sale rank is #795, and the current selling price is $47.91.

Review Score Averages:
     Super Smash Bros. Brawl's review score average is 92.75%, based on 76 reviews on GameRankings.com.
     Monster Hunter Tri's review score average is 85.00%, based on 46 reviews on GameRankings.com.

Thoughts:
     Monster Hunter Tri currently has a 24 minute higher game-play average "per person", than Super Smash Bros. Brawl does.  I think it's interesting that Monster Hunter Tri, a third party Wii game, is the game that has passed Super Smash Bros. Brawl, currently becoming the "most played" Wii game in America, per person.
     I own Monster Hunter Tri and see how the game can have hundreds of hours of game-play.  I have played right around 60 hours of Monster Hunter Tri since April, and I haven't seen half of the monsters in the game yet.
     While Monster Hunter Tri doesn't have nearly the number of players reporting data as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and won't sell as many copies as Super Smash Bros. Brawl in America; I hope Monster Hunter Tri's play-time data is encouraging to other third party developers looking to develop on the Wii, and possibly Nintendo's next system(whenever that is).
     I don't think Monster Hunter Tri will ever pass Super Smash Bros. Brawl's "Total Hours" of game-play reported, but the fact that Monster Hunter Tri has the highest average play-time per person, I think says a lot for the game.
     I think this data should show developers that if they put time/effort into their Wii games, and give Wii owners quality games, with online and offline play, they will play them; and as Monster Hunter Tri's data shows, we will play them often and for long periods of time.
     I hope that the continued play-time of Monster Hunter Tri, helps translates into further sales success for the game in America.
     Congratulations to Capcom for having the "most played" Wii game in America, as of September 20, 2010,  per person.

Questions:
     Is anybody surprised that Monster Hunter Tri is the first game to pass Super Smash Bros. Brawl, or is Monster Hunter Tri the game you thought would become the "most played" Wii game in America?  Also, do you think Monster Hunter Tri will continue to be the "most played" Wii game in America, per person, or will its average play-time decrease and fall back beneath Super Smash Bros. Brawl?
     I really thought Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex was going to be in the running for "most played" overall, a few months after it released; but even its 5 month release head-start over Monster Hunter Tri, it wasn't enough.
     I think Monster Hunter Tri will continue to be the "most played" Wii game in America, even if its average does fall back beneath Super Smash Bros. Brawl's for a few weeks.

     My online name/code in Monster Hunter Tri is Coffee/KKJ9F2; if you monster hunt online, let me know and we can try to hunt together once my school schedule calms down.


If anybody is interested in either Monster Hunter Tri or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, you can see new and used prices on Amazon.com linked below:
  

Metroid: Other M - Data Debut

Quick Brew Info:
     Metroid: Other M was released on the Nintendo Wii on August 31, 2010, and Metroid: Other M released with a MSRP of $49.99.  It was developed by Team Ninja, and published by Nintendo.

     It took 14 days for Metroid: Other M's play-time data to debut on the Wii's Nintendo Channel.  So, in the last 2-weeks, how much have Wii owners been playing Metroid: Other M?  Let's take a look...

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
     Metroid: Other M has 11,428 players reporting their play-time data, for its debut on the Nintendo Channel.

"Total" Game-Play & Average Hours Played Reported:
     Metroid: Other M has 112,376 Total Hours reported for its debut, with a 9 hours 51 minutes average play-time per person reporting data.

     The average play-time per session for Metroid: Other M is just under three hours, sitting at about 2 hours 50 minutes per play session.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
     Metroid: Other M's sale rank is #56 and is selling for $48.93 on Amazon.com.

Review Score Averages:
     Metroid: Other M's review score average is 78.01%, based on 39 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.

     On Amazon.com, Metroid: Other M has about a 3.5 out of 5 Star rating, based on 71 customer reviews.

What would you rate Metroid: Other M?

Thoughts:
     I have not purchased or played Metroid: Other M yet, but I have a friend that has offered to mail me his copy after he finishes it, so I can try it.  I may take him up on that offer, once I finish a few more games!

     I think the sales rank of Metroid: Other M on Amazon.com does show that the sales for the game look to have dropped off considerably, for what I would think is a "core" Nintendo franchise game.  I don't know if Nintendo plans to continue advertising Metroid: Other M any during the Christmas season this year, or if the live-action commercial is the only one they plan on showing, but I think it will be interesting to see how sales continue for it in the next few months.
     If you didn't see the live-action commercial for Metroid: Other M, you can watch it right here!


     As for the play-time hours, it seems the average play-time per person reported is about how long the single-player campaign for Metroid: Other M takes to complete(9 hours, from what I have read).  I would imagine most of the users reporting play-time data for Metroid: Other M have already finished the main campaign, and may now be trying to get 100% in it.

Questions:
     Did anybody here purchase Metroid: Other M, and if so, how much have you played it?  If you have completed the campaign, do you see Metroid: Other M as a game that you will play multiple times? Or, is once enough?

Monster Hunter Tri's Barroth Single-Player Hunt

Quick Brew Info:

If any of you read my "Monster Hunter Tri's - A Stick in the Mud! (Data)" post from this past Wednesday, you may have watched "Part 1" of my Monster Hunter Tri Barroth hunt, that I recorded from Monster Hunter Tri's single-player campaign last week.

After having "Part 2" of the Barroth hunt fail to upload late Wednesday night, I attempted it again on Thursday and was successful.

Here is "Part 1" and "Part 2" of my Monster Hunter Tri Barroth hunt, from the game's single-player campaign:

Part 2:

Thoughts:

Barroth stuck me with mud nearly every single time it was flung!  Not every time I was hit, made it into the videos; but it was crazy how many times I was like, "Okay, stay away and wait...", when he would start up the flinging, then I would approach and get hit by the last piece or two of mud falling to the ground!

Even with all of Barroth's mud flinging, it wasn't enough to delay defeat.  Next time though, I may have to go in with a hammer, instead of my Great Sword!

You can see prices for Monster Hunter Tri on Amazon.com below, and join the monster hunting!  If you do purchase the game, send me an email letting me know you purchased it, to Scott@CoffeeWithGames.com, that way I can get your online name/code for the game.  Again, my Monster Hunter Tri name/code is Coffee/KKJ9F2!

Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising's Darwin Under Attack Game-Play & Tips

Quick Brew Video Info:

     I was over on NintendoLife's forums, when I saw a fellow gamer said, "I can't beat the 4th mission of the American campaign.  I keep getting ambushed and eventually shot down before I can take out very many of the 3rd wave of fighters."     

     Below is a video showing the mission, Darwin Under Attack, from the WiiWare game Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising.

     The mission objective for Darwin Under Attack is "Engage enemy aircraft", while flying in the P-40 fighter.  I was using the Wii Remote controls only(pictured below).

Caffeinated Thoughts:

     Darwin Under Attack requires you to engage/survive three "waves" of enemy fighters.  You may notice in the video I am able to get through the first two waves without any major problems; but when the third wave of enemy fighters arrive, I start taking more damage.

     When the "Damage Critical" message flashes and the warning buzzer/siren goes off, your fighter plane can't take many more shots before being destroyed.

     The strategy I use quite often now to survive when I get the "Damage Critical" warning is to immediately bank my fighter either to the left or right, depending where the shots are coming from.  After banking left/right, I try to start speeding up and get my fighter to climb as high as it will go.

     Once my fighter plane starts leveling out, I usually will dive my plane for the ground/water, whatever is beneath me, and start cutting the speed completely out, until my plane is idling while diving.

     The enemy fighters may still be behind you; but by cutting your fighter's speed, I find that many times the enemy fighters will come flying past you, allowing you to get behind one or two of them and turn the dogfight in your favor.  You can see this a few times in the video.

     I hope this video and "advice" on how to survive, helps Bulbasaurus Rex complete this mission!

Questions:

     Does anybody else have any missions from Pearl Harbor Trilogy they would like to see some game-play footage from?  Or, perhaps just see more game-play footage from the game overall?

If anybody is interested in downloading Pearl Harbor Trilogy - 1941: Red Sun Rising, it is available on the Wii's Shop Channel for 700 Wii Points.  You can purchase the game using a credit card on the system itself, or by using a Nintendo Wii Points card:

Madden NFL 11 - PS3, Wii, & Xbox 360 August 2010 Amazon.com Sales Ranks

Quick Brew Info:
     On Monday, I posted "PS3 vs. Xbox 360 - Madden NFL 11 August 2010 Sales Ranks".  Being that I already discussed the PS3 and Xbox 360 sales ranks in that post, this post will cover mainly the Wii version of Madden NFL 11.
     I left Madden NFL 11 Wii's sales ranks out of the original chart, because I thought it was difficult to see small differences in sales ranks between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions(plus the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions had the same MSRP), when the Wii version was included.  With this post, I am including the Wii version's sales ranks in the same chart I used for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Madden NFL 11.
     Madden NFL 11 for the Wii was released on August 10, 2010; the same day the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions were released, but with a MSRP of $49.99, instead of $59.99.
     Was Madden NFL 11 on the Wii close to the sales ranks of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Madden NFL 11?  Let's take a look:

Click graph to enlarge

Chart Info:
     The chart above shows the August 2010 sales ranks for Madden NFL 11 on the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.  Sales ranks were captured between August 2 and August 31, 2010.

Highs & Lows:
     The highest recorded sale rank for Madden NFL 11 on the Wii was #43, on August 8 and August 9.
The lowest recorded sale rank for Madden NFL 11 on the Wii was #146, on August 2 around 11:30PM.

     On the PS3, the highest recorded sale rank for Madden NFL 11 was #1, while the lowest sale rank was #30.  For the Xbox 360, the highest recorded sale rank was #2, the lowest recorded sale rank was #23.

Critical Reception:
     The Wii version of Madden NFL 11 had reviews start being published around August 9, just like the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.  The big difference with the Wii version's review score average though, is the number of "professional" reviews it has.
  
     Madden NFL 11 on the Wii has a 76.50% review score average, based on just 6 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.
     The PS3 version had 21 reviews on Monday, and the Xbox 360 version had 26 reviews for its average on Monday.

     Here's how the Wii version has faired from Amazon.com customer review scores:

Thoughts:
     Madden NFL 10 on the Wii was reported to have sold 66,000 copies its first month; compared to 928,000 copies for Madden NFL 10 on the Xbox 360, and 665,000 copies on the PS3.

     The August 2010 NPD data was released today, and Madden NFL 11 sold 920,800 copies on the Xbox 360 and 893,600 copies on the PS3.
     The Wii version of Madden NFL 11 didn't make the NPD's "Top 10" for August, and it appears to have sold less than 100,000 copies, from the initial sales numbers in the NPD data.  Perhaps in the next few days we will learn just how many copies were sold of the Wii version.

If you are interested in Madden NFL 11 on either the PS3, Wii, or Xbox 360, you can see prices for them on Amazon.com listed below:
  

Monster Hunter Tri's - A Stick in the Mud! (Data)

Quick Brew Info:
We last looked at Monster Hunter Tri's play-time data 3-weeks ago, from August 16.  With this week's data, I am including a monster hunt video I went on in the single-player campaign a few days ago.  In the video, I'm hunting a Barroth.  If anybody has hunted a Barroth, you probably immediately knew what I meant with "A Stick in the Mud!" in the title for this post.

Click image to enlarge

Approx. Number of Players Reporting Data:
Monster Hunter Tri has 39,114 players reporting play-time data, an increase of 3,265 players since 3-weeks ago.

Average & "Total" Game-Play Hours Reported:
Monster Hunter 3's average hours reported per person are now 76 Hours 26 Minutes, over 20.81 play-sessions.  The current average Monster Hunter Tri game-play session, per player reporting data, is now about 3 Hours 40 Minutes.

Monster Hunter Tri's average hours, the 76 Hours 26 Minutes "per person", have increased 4 Hours 58 Minutes, since 3-weeks ago. The game now has 2,989,625 Total Hours reported for game-play, an increase of 427,475 game-play hours since the August 16 Nintendo Channel data.

Sale Rank & Advertised Price:
Monster Hunter Tri's Amazon.com sale rank is #981, and the current sale price is $47.91.
The sales rank #981 is the lowest recorded sales rank I have seen Monster Hunter Tri have since it released in April.


Review Score Averages:
Monster Hunter 3's review score average is still 85.00%, based on 46 "professional" reviews, on GameRanings.com.

It appears that Monster Hunter Tri has a 4.5 out of 5 Star rating from Amazon.com customer reviews.  You can see the breakdown of customer reviews in the picture below:

Thoughts:
I have been playing Monster Hunter Tri's single-player campaign little, by little, in the last 2-weeks.  As I mentioned in the "Quick Brew Info" section, I went my first Barroth hunt in the single-player campaign a few days ago.  I had hunted Barroth online with The Butcher and Den before, but I had never progressed far enough to hunt it in the single-player campaign by myself.

Here's Part 1 of my Monster Hunter Tri Barroth hunt:


As for the play-time data, I believe Monster Hunter Tri will become the "most-player" Wii game according to average play-time "per person", within the next 3-weeks; passing Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

The low Amazon.com sales rank is interesting, though it could just be a very temporary rank and tomorrow it could be back up in the #400+ sales rank range it had been in previous weeks.

Questions:
Is anybody still playing Monster Hunter Tri on a regular basis?  If so, what nights/times of the week would work best to try to get online for some monster hunting as a group?


If you haven't purchased Monster Hunter Tri, and want to join in the monster hunting, you can see new and used prices on Amazon.com linked below:















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PS3 vs. Xbox 360 - Madden NFL 11 August 2010 Sales Ranks

The Coffee Beans:

     Madden NFL 11 was released on August 10, 2010 for the PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360.

     Last year after Madden NFL 10 released, I wrote an article, "Madden's Magic Trick", that discussed the overall declining sales of the Madden series, from Madden NFL 09 to Madden NFL 10.

     While the NPD data for August 2010 hasn't been released yet, we can take a look at how Madden NFL 11 appears to have been selling during the month of August.  With the use of Amazon.com, I tracked Madden NFL 11's sales ranks on the PS3 and Xbox 360 over 16 days in August, at various times each day.

     The chart below shows the August sales ranks for Madden NFL 11 on the PS3 and Xbox 360; sales ranks were captured between August 2 and August 31, 2010.  The game released on both consoles with a MSRP of $59.99.

     Will Madden NFL 11's first month sales increase for both consoles over Madden NFL 10's?  Or, will Madden NFL 11 see another year-over-year decrease in initial month sales on the Xbox 360, versus the PS3's gain?  Let's take a look at the sales ranks in August:

Click chart to enlarge

Chart Info:

     ***You may not have noticed the asterisks marking August 13, 14, and 15 on the sales graph, but on those days, I recorded only the Xbox 360 version of Madden NFL 11 discounted to $49.99, the PS3 version was not discounted to $49.99.

Highs & Lows:

     The highest recorded sale rank for Madden NFL 11 on the PS3 was #1, on August 10 around 12:30PM.

The lowest recorded sale rank for Madden NFL 11 on the PS3 was #30, on August 28 around 10:55PM.

     The highest recorded sale rank for Madden NFL 11 on the Xbox 360 was #2, on several days: August 6, August 9, August 10, August 12, August 13, August 14, and August 15.

The lowest recorded sale rank for Madden NFL 11 on the Xbox 360 was #23, on August 28 around 10:55PM.

Critical Reception:

     The first reviews for Madden NFL 11 started being published around August 9, the day before the game released.

     Madden NFL 11 on the PS3 has a review score average of 86.21%, based on 21 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.

     Madden NFL 11 on the Xbox 360 has a review score average of 86.02%, based on 26 "professional" reviews on GameRankings.com.

     Neither the PS3 nor Xbox 360 version of Madden NFL 11 have faired well from Amazon.com customer reviews this year, here's an image showing the Amazon.com customer reviews:

2.5 Stars out of 5 for both versions on Amazon.com

Thoughts:

     I think it will be interesting to see how well Madden NFL 11 has performed, compared to Madden NFL 10, when the NPD data is released for August.

     I definitely don't think the Amazon.com customer review scores would help encourage people to buy the game if they are just glancing at the overall score, but perhaps the "professional" reviews convinced enough people to purchase the game at retail stores?
     While I didn't get a sales rank for every day of the month, I think that Madden falling off like it did at the end of August is a bad sign for the game.

     If one console will see an increase in sales, I think it will be the PS3 version again, though it does seem that Amazon.com was more aggressive early on with price-cuts to the Xbox 360 version.  I guess we will find out in a week or so!

Question:

     Did anybody purchase Madden NFL 11, and if so, where did you purchase it?  Do you think Madden NFL 11 is better or worse, than other Madden games you have played?
     Based off the sales ranks shown, does anybody want to guess whether Madden NFL 11 will see an overall sales increase or decrease compared to Madden NFL 10?  I would go with an overall sales decrease, just because of how it fell off at the end of August from being in the Amazon.com Top 10.


You can see prices for Madden NFL 11 on the PS3 and Xbox 360 on Amazon.com below: